Tips and Tricks on Chocolate Stain Removal

If you’re unfortunate enough to get a little dose of chocolate on your clothes or carpet, Mrs Clean has the cleaning tips to help you remove it fast.

The major stain producer in chocolate is fat, so chocolate stain removal follows the same procedures as any other grease stain.

The softer chocolates like milk chocolate and truffles have more cocoa butter fats and dark chocolate has a little less, so dark chocolate stains are generally a little easier to remove.

Stains on Clothing:

Caution: Check the clothing label first. If the label on the garment reads “Dry Clean Only”, these tips won’t help and you need to have a dry cleaner take a look at the stain. If the clothing can be washed by hand or if it can be machine washed, follow these steps:

1. Hang the garment up and let the chocolate harden.
2. Put the clothing in the freezer if needed to solidify the stain.
3. Gently scrape as much of the chocolate off as you can.
4. Apply a drop of laundry detergent, dish washing detergent such as dawn or laundry stain remover and gently rub into the fabric.
5. Wash according to the directions on the label.
6. Do not put in the dryer if any stain remains.

Milk chocolate will normally produce a larger stain and will take longer to harden. You may have to repeat the steps above in order to remove all of the chocolate.

Stains on Carpeting:

1. Cordon off the area around the stain and allow it to harden.
2. Use ice cubes if necessary to solidify the chocolate.
3. Scrape off as much of the chocolate solids as possible, being careful not to make the stain area larger.
4. Mix several drops of laundry detergent with 3 cups of water.
5. Gently blot the stain with the mixture.
6. Don’t enlarge the stain by wetting a large area with the cleaning mixture. Stay on target and work from the outside of the stain, inwards.
7. Use paper towels to blot dry and remove as much as the stain as possible.
8. Make sure to rinse the area thoroughly with clear water.
9. The detergent will leave a residue and attract further staining if it is not removed completely.

If that doesn’t remove the stain fully, allow the area to dry and try to remove the stain by heating the chocolate:

1. Place paper towels, paper grocery bags or napkins over the stain.
2. Using an iron on the lowest possible setting, gently iron the area over the paper towels.

The heat from the iron should draw the stain up into the paper towels or napkins.

Move the paper drawing up the grease and oil frequently to keep a clean section next to the stain when you heat the area. And, as with fabric, you may have to repeat the above steps to remove milk chocolate completely.

Tough Stain Removers:

Stains that are resistant to to the home remedies I have provided will need a stronger product. Two heavy duty stain removers for tough stains are Oxyclean and Motsenbocker’s Lift Off. I keep these products on hand for removing stains that are resistant to the usual cleaning methods.